FUEL-BASED THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES AND TANK TEMPERATURE EVOLUTION MODELS FOR AVIATION

Thermal management system’s (TMS) design has recently grown to become one of the main assets in the development of next generation aircraft, due to current trends favouring an increase in waste heat generation, especially in the context of propulsion and on-board systems electrification. Exploitation of intrinsic thermal capacity associated with conventional Jet-A fuel being stored in tanks appears as a promising solution to overcome such challenges. This paper aims to investigate the feasibility of said fuel-based TMS (F-TMS) in the context of propulsion electrification cooling, as well as presenting a modelling approach for the prediction of achievable thermal endurance. Two main cooling architectures are presented and compared, while preliminary investigation of heat rejection passively occurring through the tanks walls is also introduced. Finally, a generic, turboprop, regional transport aircraft is taken as a reference for the determination of the maximum achievable degree of hybrid-propulsion electrification to be managed via such architectures.